Clip for writing instrument and method of attaching same

ABSTRACT

A CLIP ASSEMBLY FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE HOLLOW CAP OF A WRITING INSTRUMENT, SUCH AS A PEN OR PENCIL, THE CLIP ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A CLIP HAVING A BASE PORTION AND A RESILIENT SHANK PORTION, THERE BEING A PROJECTION ON THE BASE PORTION WHICH EXTENDS THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE NORMALLY UPPER END OF THE CAP, THE PROJECTION BEING ENGAGED BY A RESILIENT RETAINER RING WHICH IS FRICTIONALLY FITTED WITHIN THE HOLLOW CAP, WHEREBY THE CLIP ASSEMBLY IS RETAINED WITH RESPECT TO THE CAP.   D R A W I N G

Sept. 28, 1971 G. o. IRA

CLIP FOR WRITING INSTRUMENT AND METHOD OF ATTACHING SAME Filed 061:. 7, 1969 ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,608,154 CLIP FOR WRITING INSTRUMENT AND METHOD OF ATTACHING SAME George 0. Ira, Prairie Village, Kans., assignor to Hallmark Cards, Incorporated, Kansas City, Mo. Filed Oct. 7, 1969, Ser. No. 864,471 Int. Cl. B43k 25/00 U.S. Cl. 24-11F 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A clip assembly for attachment to the hollow cap of a writing instrument, such as a pen or pencil, the clip assembly including *a clip having a base portion and a resilient shank portion, there being a projection on the base portion which extends through an opening in the normally upper end of the cap, the projection being engaged by a resilient retainer ring which is frictionally fitted within the hollow cap, whereby the clip assembly is retained with respect to the cap.

It is the most important object of this invention to provide a clip assembly for writing instruments such as, for instance, ball-point pens and automatic pencils wherein the clip assembly is simple and economical in construction and of such a design that it may be readily and easily attached to the hollow cap of the writing instrument.

It is, therefore, a most significant object of this invention to provide a clip assembly for a writing instrument having a hollow cap, the assembly comprising a clip having a base portion, a resilient shank portion extending normally downwardly from the base portion and in generally parallel relationship thereto, there being a projection on the base portion, which projection extends through a slot formed in the normally upper, otherwise closed end of the writing instrument cap, there being a resilient retainer ring frictionally fitted within said cap and having an aperture therethrough, which aperture receives the projection on the clip assembly whereby to tightly retain the same against shifting movement and thereby retain the clip assembly with respect to the cap.

It is a yet further important object of this invention to provide a method for attaching a clip assembly to the cap of a writing instrument, which method includes the steps of forming an opening in the normally upper, closed end of the cap; positioning resilient retaining means within the cap and adjacent the opening, the retaining means being compressed as it is positioned within the cap whereby to place the same in tight frictional engagement with the interior of the cap; and extending a projection on the clip through the opening and through the resilient retaining means after the latter has been compressed and positioned within the cap to thereby expand the retaining means into tighter engagement with the interior of the cap, the resilient retaining means also embracing the projection on the clip whereby to tightly retain the clip assembly with respect to the cap.

Other objects will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the writing instrument cap having the clip assembly attached thereto;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the cap and the individual components of the clip assembly prior to attachment of the clip assembly to the cap;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, substantially central, longitudinal sectional view showing the clip assembly attached to the cap;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3, and

ice

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the resilient retainer ring of the clip assembly.

As is the case with many conventional writing instruments in the nature of ball-point pens and automatic pencils, there is usually provided a hollow cap 10, which cap 10 cooperates with the remainder of the casing of the writing instrument to present an overall desirable aesthetic appearance for the writing instrument, the cap and the lower casing serving to enclose the operating mechanism of the writing instrument. It is well-known that the caps for such writing instruments are usually provided with a clip whereby the writing instrument may be carried within the pocket of the user thereof, the clip usually being affixed to the cap such as 10, of the writing instrument.

' In the present case, there is provided a clip assembly 12 for attachment to the cap 10 by a method hereinafter more fully described.

The clip assembly 12 includes, as its major components, a clip 14 and a resilient retaining ring 16, said components cooperating to secure the clip assembly with respect to the cap 10.

In order to accomplish the desired result, the clip 14 is provided with a resilient shank portion 18 which overlies the outer surface 20 of the cap 10 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1, said resilient shank having a boss 22 at the normally lowermost end thereof which cooperates with the outer surface 20 of cap 10 to retain the writing instrument within the pocket of the user thereof.

Clip 14 also includes a base portion 24, said base portion, in the embodiment chosen for illustration, being integral with the resilient shank portion 18. The base portion has depending therefrom in normally downwardly extending relationship thereto and in generally parallel relationship to shank 18, a projection 26, said projection presenting a pair of spaced-apart shoulders 28 in opposed relationship at the upper edge thereof, and a pair of beads 30 in opposed relationship at the lower edge thereof, the area 32 between said beads and said shoulders being reduced with respect thereto. As clearly shown in FIG. 3 of the drawing, the shoulders 28 join with the base portion 24 and in so doing, present a pair of opposed flanges 34.

The resilient retainer ring 16 is fabricated from a material which is compressible and expandable such as, for instance, a suitable rubber or plastic, the retainer ring 16 having a normally upper face 36, a normally lower face 3-8, and a circumscribing, generally cylindrical, outer surface 40, the outer surface being provided with a plurality of ribs 42, and being tapered from the lower face 38 thereof toward the upper face 36 thereof for purposes which will hereinafter become apparent. A generally rectangular, centrally disposed aperture 44 extends through the resilient retainer ring 16.

The cap 10 is of essentially conventional configuration and presents, in addition to outer surface 20 defined by the side wall 46 thereof, a top wall 48, the top wall being generally cylindrical and having a slot 50 formed thereacross.

The side wall 46 of cap 10 has a pair of notches 52 formed therein, the notches 52 being in opposed relationship and in alignment with the slot 50 in top wall 48, the notches 52 also being in communication with the slot 50 whereby a bifurcated upper end is presented by the cap 10.

The side wall 46 of cap 10 also presents an inner surface 54, said inner surface 54 defining an interior cavity 56, the cavity being tapered from the normally lowermost end 58 of cap 10 toward the top wall thereof whereby the diameter of interior cavity 56 decreases as the top wall 48 of the cap is approached.

The clip 14 is of such a configuration, in the embodiment chosen for illustration, that it blends aesthetically with the cap 10, the clip 14 having an upper rim 60 which, when the clip assembly 12 is finally positioned with respect to the cap 10, lies in a common plane with the top wall 48 of the cap as is shown clearly in FIG. 1 of the drawing. Furthermore, when the clip assembly 12 is retained with respect to the cap 10 in the manner hereinafter described, the resilient shank portion 18 of clip 14 extends, at its upper end, from one of the notches 52 in the side wall 46 of the cap 10, with the result that the clip is pleasingly blended with the cap to thereby impart to the writing instrument an overall appearance which is aesthetically desirable.

Furthermore, the manner in which the components of the clip assembly 12 are fabricated and retained with respect to the cap 10 is extremely simple and lends itself to high-speed production techniques. As is apparent from the drawing, the clip 14 can be stamped from a sheet of fiat metal by a single operation and the retainer ring 16 can be readily extruded from a plastic material.

When the separate components have been fabricated, the same may be joined with the cap 10 in the following manner. An opening is formed in the normally upper, closed end of the cap 10, the opening being in the form of the slot 50 and its communicating notches 52. The retainer ring 16 is then inserted into the lower end 58 of the cap 10 with the surface 36 thereof positioned upwardly, viewing the drawing, it being noted that surface 36 is that of the smallest diameter and that the taper of the outer surface 40 of the retainer ring 16 conforms to the taper of the side wall 46 of the cap 10. Accordingly, in view of the complemental configuration of the interior 56 of the cap 10 and the retainer ring 16, the retainer ring may be readily moved longitudinally of the cap 10 until such time as the ribs 42 tightly and frictionally engage the interior of the cap 10 and, more specifically, interior surface 54 of side wall 46. By applying a yet further and predetermined amount of longitudinal pressure to the retainer ring 16, it can be tightly and securely seated within the upper end of the cap 10 and adjacent the slot 50 and notches 52.

Once the retainer ring has been positioned as above described, the base portion 24 of the clip assembly 12 may be grasped and the projection 26 extended downwardly through the slot 50 and into the interior of the cap 10 whereupon the projection will become aligned with the aperture 44 in the retainer ring 16. Once this alignment has been obtained, a given and predetermined amount of additional pressure will force the projection 26 through the aperture 44 and into the position shown in FIG. 3 of the drawing whereby said projection 26 extends through said aperture and is tightly retained therewithin, not only by the inherent resiliency of the ring 16, but also by virtue of the fact that the beads 30 extend outwardly from the lower end of the projection and prevent removal of the projection 26 from within the aperture 44.

When the clip is seated with respect to the cap 10 and retained in the manner above described, it will be noted that, as shown in FIG. 3, one flange 34 is in engagement with the lower edge 62 of one of the slots 52, the other flange 34 being in engagement with the lower edge 64 of the opposed notch 52 whereby there is not any gap between the cap and the clip. It 'will also be noted that the clip 14 is of a width essentially identical to, although minutely smaller than, the width of slot 50 and its cooperating communicating notches 52 whereby the clip may be tightly fitted within the upper end of cap 10 and no gaps or other unsightly openings permitted.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that once the clip assembly has been initially retained with respect to the cap 10, it will, during use, tend to even more tightly retain itself with respect to the cap. This, for the reason that as the resilient ring 16 is moved longitudinally of the cap 10 and is compressed whereby the ribs 42 move into tight engagement with surface 54, the ring is initially brought into tight, frictional engagement with the interior of the cap 10. Thus, prior to the attachment of the clip 14, ring 16 is tightly compressed Within the cap 10'.

Subsequently, when the clip 14 is secured to the cap 10 and the projection 26 extended through the aperture 44-, such passage of the projection through the aperture will cause a slight expansion of the ring 16, due to its resiliency, thereby expanding the retaining ring -16 into even yet tighter engagement with the interior of the cap 10. Also, the ring 16 will securely retain the clip 14 by virtue of its embracing engagement with the projection 26 thereof and also by virtue of the heads 30 which prevent the projection 26 from backing out of the aperture 44, all as is readily apparent from FIG. 3 of the drawing.

Yet further, it will be appreciated that even if the writing instrument should be jammed or inserted in such a manner that there is an upward pressure on the clip 14, such pressure, rather than causing clip 14 and retainer ring 16 to part will, to the contrary, cause retainer ring 16 to be more tightly wedged into the upper end of the cap 10 inasmuch as such upward pressure on the clip 14 would tend only to move retainer ring 16 longi tudinally upward within the cap 10.

Thus there is presented a clip assembly for a writing instrument which is practical and economical in construction and which may be retained with respect to the cap of the writing instrument in a secure and dependable manner by a method which lends itself to high-speed production techniques.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A clip assembly for a writing instrument having a hollow cap, said assembly comprising:

a clip having a base portion;

a resilient shank portion extending normally downwardly from said base portion;

a projection on said base portion for extending through an opening formed in the normally upper end of said cap; and

resilient means disposed within said cap for engaging said projection to retain said clip with respect to said cap, said resilient means comprising a retainer ring having an aperture formed therein, said aperture receiving said projection.

2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, said projection being spaced from said shank and in generally parallel relationship thereto.

3. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, said ring having a generally cylindrical outer surface, there being a plurality of ribs on said surface, said ribs being in engagement with the interior of said cap.

4. An assembly as set forth in claim 3, said cap having a top wall and a side wall, said side wall being tapered toward said top wall, said opening including a slot formed in said top wall whereby said projection may extend therethrough and into engagement with said retainer ring.

5. An assembly as set forth in claim 4, the outer surface of said retainer ring being tapered in conformity with the taper of the side wall of the cap for tight frictional engagement with the interior of said cap.

6. An assembly as set forth in claim 5, said opening including a pair of opposed notches formed in the side wall, said notches being in alignment with the slot in said top wall and in communication therewith, said base portion being received within said slot and said notches when said projection is received within said aperture.

7. A method of attaching a clip assembly to a writing instrument having a hollow cap comprising the steps of:

forming an opening in the normally upper, closed end of the cap;

positioning resilient retaining means within said cap adjacent said opening;

compressing said resilient retaining means as it is positioned within said cap to thereby place the same in tight frictional engagement with the interior of the cap; and

3,608,154 5 6 extending a projection on said assembly through said References Cited opening and into engagement with said resilient retaining means to retain said clip assembly with re- UNITED STATES PATENTS spect to said cap. 1,116,078 11/1914 Klein et a1. 24-11F 8. The method as set forth in claim 7, wherein is in- 5 1,854,747 4/ 1932 La France 24-1 1F cluded the steps of extending said projection through said 2,048,127 7/ 1936 Larsen 241 1F resilient retaining means after the latter has been com- 3,453,694 7/1969 Hechtle 24-11F pressed and positioned within said cap; and expanding the retaining means into tighter engagement with the interior DONALD GRIFFIN, Primary Examlnef of the cap. 10 

